Basketball game notes - Jan. 27, 2011

January 25, 2011 -A second loss this season caused the Hillsdale College men's basketball team to take a tumble in the most recent NABC Division II Top 25 poll, released Tuesday afternoon. But don't expect that to be a deterrent to the team as it heads off on its longest road trip of the season.

The Chargers, 14-2 overall and 8-2 in the GLIAC, dropped six spots to 17th in the most recent poll. The team will head to the Upper Peninsula for games Thursday night against Northern Michigan, and Saturday afternoon against Michigan Tech. Game times are 5:30 and 1 p.m., respectively.

This marks the third straight year Hillsdale will play in the home arenas of NMU and MTU. The Chargers have won each of their last two meetings with Northern Michigan at its Berry Events Center, although both games went down to the wire.

In 2009, Chris Skaggs tipped in a shot at the buzzer to give Hillsdale a come-from-behind 75-74 win. In that game, the Chargers trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, and the final four minutes featured seven ties and 13 lead changes.

In 2010, Hillsdale won the game in a more decisive fashion, 78-62, and featured 27-point performances by both Brent Eaton and Luke Laser. That win sprung the Chargers on a six-game winning streak, which turned into a 14-1 run that led the team all the way to the GLIAC Tournament Championship Game.

Clearly, the momentum from that end-of-season roll carried over into this season, when the team started 13-0 and was ranked as high as fourth in the nation.

Awaiting the Chargers Thursday night is a Wildcats team that enters the matchup with a 6-11 overall record. NMU sits in last place in the GLIAC North Division with a 1-9 conference record. However, they played both Ferris State and Grand Valley State tough last week, though both games ended in NMU losses. Five of the team's nine losses in the GLIAC have come by 10 points or less.

Michigan Tech is 10-7 overall and 5-5 in the GLIAC. but has lost four in a row, prior to Thursday night's home game versus Northwood. The Huskies did get off to a promising start to the 2010-11 season, winning nine of their first 10 games.

A benchmark of Hillsdale's strong play this season has come in its ability to meld individual talents into strong team play. Other than Tyler Gerber, who leads the GLIAC in both assists and steals, very few Charger players are near the top of GLIAC statistical categories. However, the team is in the top three in nine different stats in the conference, including 3-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage and turnover margin, among others.